CVE-2022-41049: Microsoft Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Is it exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 14 Nov 2022, 5 days after the CVE record was published.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

2.6%

EPSS score, percentile 85.5 of all scored records

How severe?

5.4 Medium

CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA deadline 9 Dec 2022. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Advisories and patches (1)

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• from 10.0.10240.0 to before 10.0.10240.19567
• from 10.0.14393.0 to before 10.0.14393.5501
• from 10.0.17763.0 to before 10.0.17763.3650
• from 10.0.0 to before 10.0.17763.3650
• from 10.0.0 to before 10.0.19042.2251
• from 10.0.0 to before 10.0.19043.2251

and 9 more in the table below

Versions by product

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

CISA due date for this action: 9 December 2022.

Advisories and patches

• Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability (Vendor advisory, Patch)

Linked from CISA's catalog entry

• https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-US/vulnerability/CVE-2022-41049
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-41049

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

Microsoft Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW) contains a security feature bypass vulnerability resulting in a limited loss of integrity and availability of security features.

Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.

• CISA added CVE-2022-41049 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 14 Nov 2022.
• CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
• The due date CISA sets for the required action is 9 Dec 2022.
• The CVE record was published on 9 Nov 2022, 5 days before it was added to KEV.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (Medium), given by its CNA.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.6% (percentile 85.5), as of 28 Oct 2026.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact partial.

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Weakness

• CWE-274

CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.

Timeline

More exploited Microsoft vulnerabilities

• CVE-2026-96951: Microsoft Windows Command Injection Vulnerability (added 13 Oct 2026)
• CVE-2026-65660: Microsoft SharePoint Code Injection Vulnerability (added 25 Sep 2026)
• CVE-2026-81963: Microsoft Windows Link Following Vulnerability (added 8 Sep 2026)
• CVE-2026-85880: Microsoft Windows Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (added 8 Sep 2026)
• CVE-2019-1068: Microsoft SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (added 26 Aug 2026)
• CVE-2026-33824: Microsoft Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Double Free Vulnerability (added 18 Aug 2026)